In an electronic data storage and retrieval system, a magnetic recording head typically includes a reader portion having a sensor for retrieving magnetically encoded information stored on a magnetic medium. Magnetic flux from the surface of the medium causes rotation of the magnetization vector of a sensing layer or layers of the sensor, which in turn causes a change in the electrical properties of the sensor. The sensing layers are often called free layers, since the magnetization vectors of the sensing layers are free to rotate in response to external magnetic flux. The change in the electrical properties of the sensor may be detected by passing a current through the sensor and measuring a voltage across the sensor. Depending on the geometry of the device, the sense current may be passed in the plane (CIP) of the layers of the device or perpendicular to the plane (CPP) of the layers of the device. External circuitry then converts the voltage information into an appropriate format and manipulates that information as necessary to recover information encoded on the disc.
A structure in contemporary read heads is a thin film multilayer structure containing ferromagnetic material that exhibits some type of magnetoresistance. A typical magnetoresistive sensor configuration includes a multilayered structure formed of a nonmagnetic layer (such as a thin insulating barrier layer or a nonmagnetic metal) positioned between a synthetic antiferromagnet (SAF) and a ferromagnetic free layer, or between two ferromagnetic free layers. The resistance of the magnetic sensor depends on the relative orientations of the magnetization of the magnetic layers.
With increased recording densities, the dimensions of the magnetic sensor are decreased to sense the magnetic flux of each bit on the magnetic medium. A consequence of decreasing the size of the magnetic sensor is preserving the magnetization of the in-plane anisotropy of the magnetic layers of the magnetic sensor. For example, at smaller dimensions, the magnetization of a portion of the free layer may cant away from the anisotropic magnetization direction to minimize magnetostatic energy. The relative fraction of the region with canted magnetization may increase as the dimensions continue to decrease. In addition, changes in the canting direction caused by thermal variations or external fields may increase noise and instability in the sensor. Furthermore, when a permanent magnet is employed to bias magnetic layers in the magnetic sensor, the magnetization direction of the reference layer may be tilted off-axis, thereby reducing the signal generated by the magnetic sensor.